Earthan Civil War
Major Battles: Operation Skysword Battle of London Battle of Paris Assault on the Arab Union Siege of Luna Strike at Athens Battle of Berlin Fall of Europe The Earthan Civil War was a sustained military conflict between the Earthan Empire against the United Nations of Earth and factions supporting it for control of the Earth and the Sol System. The conflict began on the night of December 26th, 2180 when Evin Neige, supreme commander of the Union Armed Forces, instigated a coup d'etat against the Executive Council of the UNE effectively seizing control of the Earth's government. Evin Neige under threats of total destruction by the ongoing invasion of the Earth persuaded the Federal Senate to provide him antiquated emergency powers that effectively gave him dictatorial powers. Evin Neige was virtually unopposed until the Omega group successfully escaped in the Battle of Aspen which Evin Neige then used the incident as a scare tactic to establish the Earthan Empire and installed himself as emperor on the 30th of December essentially exiling any who supported the old United Nations and its democratic values. In response the European and African Unions made the Mediterranean Declaration in protest naming Evin Neige an illegitimate leader. Evin Neige ordered a strike to turn this protest as an example and destroyed the European parliament's headquarters and much of the city of Brussels which cemented Neige's power and ruthlessness but also drew sharp condemnation from abroad and emboldened many on Earth to reject the Earthan Empire beginning open war. Background As the 2180s arrived the Sol System was at the height of a Cold War between the Earthan and Jovian alliances that had been going on for more than half a century. Two major wars between said alliances had brought the planets near catastrophe and therefore forced the formation of the Sol Union, a neutral body meant to prevent war through dialogue between the planets. Many however on the planet Earth saw the Sol Union as illegitimate because it allowed shared sovereignty of Sol among the planets (even though Earth had the largest influence on the union) and saw a rebirth of the old Earthan Empire as the true way towards stability and peace. Many of these ideas came from the Technocratic Party of Earth which held deep nationalistic views and therefore saw Earth as the only planet capable of creating a stable and peaceful system. Although a minority party, the Technocratic Party's views were at the least growing in popularity among the populace of Earth as Evin Neige, a Technocratic politician from France was voted as Supreme Commander to become part of the Executive Council of Earth. This vote gave the TPE a huge boost in influence and the small party now had an executive arm. Neige had an extreme version of the views the TPE followed and intended to return the Earth to an empire, and he saw himself in the perfect position to do it. With control of the military, Neige moved Earthan assets and left severe holes in Earth's defenses to allow attacks upon Earth and its colonies. Although these incidents were caused by the actions of a Technocrat, the people of Earth would hold the ruling Socialist bloc in Parliament and the Democratic Socialist president as responsible weakening their influence on the people of Earth. Evin Neige would catapult his ideals by learning of an impending terrorist attack from Venus, long enemy of Earth, and helping them achieve said attack without their knowledge. Wars Across the System The attack would strike the Olympic Games a symbol of Earth and kill thousands. The attack was seen as a major security failure for the ruling government of Earth and an impending investigation quickly revealed Venus was behind the attack. With an attack on their soil the people of Earth and its Parliament were furious and demanding action, something the President was hesitant to do. It would come however as the Earth would declare war on Venus and invade it, an action meant to force Venus to the negotiating table at the Sol Union but as a first step to a new Empire for Neige. Venus was a member of the Jovian Alliance and with its security clause Jupiter and Uranus were forced to assist the planet with Earth's invasion. Jupiter's strikes against the Earth were a surprise to many across the system and froze Parliament in fear of all out war that could turn nuclear. With the fear of nuclear catastrophe Parliament refused to openly attack Jupiter or Uranus, something which angered the populace of Earth and exploded the TPE's popularity. With the fall of Jupiter to Corunas, war was prevented and no action was required on Parliament's part, but the ineffectiveness of Earth's government had already been revealed to Earth's people. Coup d'etat Earth would fall victim to the same Corunas attack and Tokyo, its capital, would fall. Earth's parliament and the Executive Council would evacuate to New York City and establish a provisional capital there amidst mass protests over what the people of Earth assumed was a Jovian Alliance attack upon Earth that the government was failing to respond to. Evin Neige would call for President Mahen to pressure Parliament to provide him emergency powers so that he would have more direct control over the Union Armed Forces and act swiftly but Mahen refused him stating that maintaining the government as is would maintain stability in such a troubled time. Frustrated with his inaction Neige would begin plans for grasping full control of the government. During an emergency session of Parliament where President Mahen was speaking, Evin Neige and his security forces would arrest the president and prime-minister and attempt to assassinate them but they were instead saved by Joseph Cartizo and his group. Although he failed to kill the Executive Council, Neige successfully brought parliament onto his side and with the Union Armed Forces largely supporting him he had effectively taken control of the United Nations. Parliament now rallying to his cause quickly voted to grant Evin Neige the emergency powers he so long wanted, effectively making him a dictator of Earth, albeit a democratically elected one as he claimed. What remained of the Executive Council and any elements of the Earthan government still loyal to them would fall into hiding, being forced to watch Neige's empire rise from the shadows, but not forever. Rise of an Empire Now in control of Earth's government, Neige promised a swift end to the invasion of Earth, he himself however was unaware of who was even invading. Activating the Project Gemini forces recently created by Earthan Technologies, the Union Armed Forces attempt a retaliatory strike against the invaders that had occupied most of Japan by now. Operation Rising Sun commenced and a force of nearly 100 ships struck at Japan's western coast but would fall catastrophically to the seemingly more advanced and numerous invaders. This turn of events would be kept secret from the Earthan public however, instead Neige's government would spread the story that the Earthan invasion of Japan was a success until it didn't matter. Neige's new government was now heavily censoring media critical of it and punishing anyone or anything that defied it. For this and its method of gaining power the worlds of Sol and the Sol Union rejected Neige and his government calling it illegitimate and placing all their support towards the now in-exile old government of Earth. Neige used this to his advantage however, with planets such as Venus now supporting the old government it was easy for him to call the old government traitors and rally the populace to him. With parliament continuously providing him more emergency powers Neige was now effectively a king, however the failure of Japan and the new invasions befalling many Earthan cities was demoralizing the populace and his own army. To both distract the people and fulfill his dream of returning Earth to a solar empire, Neige finalized the invasion of Venus by destroying its capital and capitulating into a puppet state of the Earth. The move worked as the mass internment Neige ordered and the newly installed draft was largely ignored and/or supported by Earth's people. This move forced a military response from the Sol Union which would only hurt itself as Earth's now exclusively advanced and immense military blockaded the Sol Union and many planets such as Mars. There remained a massive thorn in Neige's side however, the invaders laying waste to much of the Earth, invaders his new army could not repel. Like a miracle however Neige would be personally visited by an enigmatic man known only as Helios, a man who purported himself as messenger of the "gods" the same gods invading the Earth. He offered a proposition that the gods would halt their attacks and even assist Neige if he formed an Earth based empire that would conquer the system with Neige as emperor and Helios as a primarch to spread the dogma of the gods. The offer was too great for Neige to refuse however weary he was of Helios and his intentions and on the 27th of February, 2181 Neige proclaimed the creation of the new Earthan Empire and introduced the gods to the public for the first time. The invaders almost immediately relented their attacks and returned the territories conquered to the new Empire. Neige's rise to power was now complete and cemented he however did not have universal support, and the struggles would not be over for him. War With Neige's total acquisition of power, the empire was beginning to prepare for a total invasion of Sol. However it would be interrupted by the announcement that the European Union and a majority of its nations would not recognize this new Earthan Empire out of protest. This proclamation was meant as a peaceful protest but Neige responded by calling these nations traitors and militarily crushing them. The United Nations saw this protest as a stepping stone to allow it to effectively engage the Empire in war and leave its exile and many groups across the Earth were inspired by Europe's move to break out into open resistance effectively forming the Earthan Resistance. Neige by now knew that any move he made didn't matter in a public approval sense as he had now absolute control so he was quick to commence a total invasion of Europe. The invasion of Europe was joined by the "Great Proclamation" that stated all of Earth's nations would be changed to better reflect the Empire and ensure stability. A Council for Stability was formed made up of the former United States, UK, France, Germany, Russia, Saudi Arabia, China and Japan and was given control of the rest of the nations of Earth. In Europe the newly formed British, French, Russian and German Empires lead the Earthan Empire's invasion of Europe. Sensing the volatile times the United Nations knew it had to act quickly to spark the new volatile air around the Earth and begin the conflict necessary to bring down the Empire. Recently having recruited Joseph Catizo and his group, the UN sent them to Chicago in the new Imperial States of America and had them strike a military base cutting the Empire's hold there and making the group's presence known. Although victorious in the Chicago Skirmish the UN would fail in Europe and the Empire would quickly overtake much of the nations there. By now Helios revealed to Neige the alien origin of the gods and the true intentions behind their invasion and acquisition of Sol, seeing the current situation as the only way to prevent the destruction of Earth and his only chance to remain Emperor he remained on Helios' side. Nations in Africa would also rebel much like their European counterparts but they too would be struck down by the Empire's military power. Part of the Empire's supremacy lied in the automated systems that ATLAS the computer which controlled much of the Union Armed Forces and now Imperial Armed Forces units was head of. To try and disable this the UN sent Joseph's group to the UNS Thalamegos where ATLAS' central computer was located. To get there the group had to sneak through Europe, taking part in the battles of Britain and France the group saw the horrors of the ensuing war and discovered the alien origin of the original invaders. Finally reaching the station the group found it deserted, long evacuated from the war. The group reach ATLAS' central computer only to discover it had gone rogue and self-destructed the station in a desperate attempt to destroy it. The group escapes the destruction of the station seemingly destroying ATLAS but the weapons systems of the Empire remain active hinting to a second controller. In their desperate escape Joseph accidentally teleported the group so far they arrived in Venus' orbit, separating them from the civil war on Terra proper. Without the UN's only trump card the Empire swept across the Earth devastating the Resistance causing them to become desperate and resort to terrorist like attacks on targets within the Empire. Gregory Colbin, a general of the Resistance was now gaining more and more influence within the Resistance and usurping the Executive Council of its power. His tactics were less merciful and he would order a plethora of civilian casualty riddled attacks upon the Empire. Battle of Venus Meanwhile on Venus, the group would discover a planet suffering under the unforgiving hand of the Empire and the impending nuclear holocaust Neige planned for the defiant Martian Union. With the group's help however the Venusian Resistance managed to out power the Venusian puppet state and the Corunas forces supporting them and liberated Venus dealing a huge blow to Neige's Empire. With knowledge of the impending attack on Mars, Joseph's group a small contingent of Venusian forces traveled to Mars to remove the blockade holding them. Battle of Mars On Mars Corunas had invaded but in a very limited way, seemingly waiting for the Empire to actually invade. With ships in orbit the Imperial Navy was waiting for the order to assault Mars and take it over as a mineral colony. When the group and the Venusian contingent arrived they managed to destroy two Imperial ships before landing on the planet and warning the government there of the impending attacking. Although the planetary government of Mars largely ignored the warnings the local government of the city of Mardeau, the capital of the Martian province of Gallia, heeded the warnings and evacuated, saving the lives of millions when the Empire finally did initiate a nuclear strike destroying the city. With the warnings proven the Martian king came to the Martian parliament and ordered a mobilization to attack the orbital blockade. The Empire launch a surprise invasion of the Martian capital and the capital of the province of New Prussia, Konigsberg. The group and the combined Martian and Venusian forces struck at the navy in orbit and destroyed them before the nuclear strikes could occur. With the navy gone the ground forces quickly surrendered and Mars was liberated. Now with two planets lost Neige was embarrassed and furious, as retribution he destroyed the Sol Union's HQ killing most there and reduced the Resistance to a rump state on Earth brutally destroying any allies it had, while receiving Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto as puppet states from Corunas. The group was now heading for Earth with broad support from Mars and Venus to bring down the Empire. War Returns to Earth The UN planned a counterattack on the home-front with the reinforcements coming from abroad. The plan was to attack the Arab Union, the weakest of the leader states of the Council for Stability, and the source of the Empire's fossil-fuel production.